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By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER, Associated Press
More than 3.8 million laid-off workers applied for unemployment benefits last week, according to data from the U.S. Department of Labor, including 74,043 people in Virginia, as the U.S. economy slid further into a crisis that is becoming the most devastating since the 1930s.
By HANNAH SCHUSTER, WAMU
Friday is the first of the month, which means rent checks are due for millions of people around the country. But with more than 30 million people having filed for unemployment in the last six weeks, activists are pushing for rent payments to be canceled to grant reprieve during the coronavirus pandemic. . . . The “Cancel the Rent” movement is gaining steam among activists around the country, including in this region. On Friday, people across Virginia will protest from their cars demanding rent forgiveness.
By KYLE SWENSON AND JENNA PORTNOY, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)
The District, Maryland and Virginia have been shut down for weeks, their economies in tatters. Large swaths of the population venture out only rarely, wrapped in masks and gloves. But hundreds of new coronavirus cases are still reported each day as the virus continues its devastating march through nursing homes, jails and other institutional settings.
By SPENCER NEALE, Washington Examiner
As states across the country move to reopen their economies in spite of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Virginia GOP officials are criticizing Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam's failure to provide widespread testing. On Wednesday, the Republican Party of Virginia released a statement that included data showing the state ranked second-to-last in coronavirus testing nationwide. According to the numbers, compiled by the Kaiser Family Foundation, Virginia has only administered 10 tests per 1,000 residents while
By KATE MASTERS, Virginia Mercury
Amid continued concern over the shortage of COVID-19 testing in Virginia, several commercial labs have expressed surprise that their capacity for running tests remains above the demand for them. Asked Wednesday why the state of Virginia couldn’t have contracted with private labs to boost testing capacity, former Health Commissioner Dr. Karen Remley — recently announced as co-director of Gov. Ralph Northam’s new testing task force — said that none were ready at the time when the state needed them most.
By PETER COUTU, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
The number of new coronavirus cases continues to increase each day in Virginia, though the rate of growth has slowed compared to weeks ago. But where are these new cases coming from? Because Gov. Ralph Northam has appeared open to reopening Virginia on a regional basis, The Virginian-Pilot examined the count of new cases each day for all of the state’s localities to get a sense of which direction different areas were heading.
By STEPHEN FALESKI, Smithfield Times (Paywall)
In an effort to facilitate social distancing, the Surry County Registrar’s Office is mailing absentee ballot applications to every registered voter in each of the county’s three incorporated towns, all of which will have Town Council elections on May 19.
The Full Report
49 articles, 28 publications
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The Virginia Public Access Project
Each year, Virginia state lawmakers are required to list any stocks, mutual funds or other securities they own and assign each of them a value range. VPAP presents a cross tab that plots the minimum value of each legislator's portfolio and their age. Some 26 of 140 lawmakers reported owning no stocks or mutual funds valued at more than $5,000.
The Virginia Public Access Project
Data from the Virginia Department of Health shows a timeline of COVID-19 cases and statewide map showing the number of cases and deaths by locality. VPAP has added daily hospital utilization data from the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association. Updated each morning shortly after 9:00 a.m.
By MARIE ALBIGES, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
Gov. Ralph Northam has the power to close gyms during emergencies such as the coronavirus pandemic, a judge ruled Thursday. In a nearly three-hour video hearing that was at times disrupted by an apparent faulty internet connection, Culpeper Circuit Judge Claude Worrell denied the owner of nine Gold’s Gym facilities an injunction that would have excluded his gyms from the governor’s executive order temporarily closing recreational and entertainment businesses.
By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)
A Culpeper County Circuit Court judge has denied a bid by Gold’s Gym to lift the shutdown Gov. Ralph Northam imposed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in recreational facilities and other nonessential businesses. Judge Claude Worrell ruled Thursday that the governor’s order to close gyms during the coronavirus public health emergency is constitutional and denied a request for an injunction to lift the shutdown order.
By MATTHEW BARAKAT, Associated Press
A Virginia judge on Thursday rejected a petition from a gym owner who sought to reopen his facilities despite an executive order requiring the closure of fitness centers and other nonessential businesses. At a hearing conducted by telephone, Circuit Court Judge Claude Worrell said Virginia law gives the governor broad authority to issue executive orders during a public health emergency like the one caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
By LINDSEY KENNETT, WSLS
Gov. Ralph Northam created the COVID-19 Business Task Force to seek advice on how to safely and responsibly create guidelines for businesses to reopen. Southwest Virginia has a seat at the virtual table in the form of Franky Marchand, the vice president and general manager at Volvo Trucks Dublin plant. He said he was excited to get the call to join the governor’s new task force....The task force has two dozen members who represent different industries in Virginia: manufacturing, salons, theaters, fitness centers, restaurants, wineries, etc.
By CALEB AYERS, Danville Register & Bee
In the Dan River Region, the approach to enforcing the governor’s pandemic orders depends on where the violation is reported. In Pittsylvania County, a resident has been charged with holding a gathering of too many people at her Java home, while a business owner has been charged with keeping his gaming establishment open.
By SEAN JONES, Progress Index (Metered paywall - 10 articles a month)
Del. Lashrecse D. Aird is calling on the city to restore water service to Petersburg residents whose bills went delinquent before the coronavirus pandemic, saying it is “inhumane” to allow anyone to live without water during the crisis.
By ALEX KOMA, Washington Business Journal (Subscription required for some articles)
Layoffs, furloughs and other unpleasant cuts are on the way in D.C., Maryland and Virginia without a massive increase in federal coronavirus relief, according to some of the Washington region’s top budget minders. As the exact contours of the pandemic’s impact on the regional economy become clear, the chef financial officers in both states and the District warn that they’ll face budget gaps that stretch well into the billions.
By ALEXA MASSEY, Farmville Herald (Paywall)
The Virginia Department of Corrections is reporting 161 cases of COVID-19 stemming from correctional centers in Buckingham County, with more than 16% of inmates at the Dillwyn Correctional Center testing positive. As of Thursday, April 30, VDOC’s coronavirus update webpage listed a staggering 146 offenders and five staff members as having tested positive for COVID-19 at the Dillwyn Correctional Center,
By SYDNEY LAKE, Va Business Magazine
The GO Virginia Region 1 Council, which covers Southwest Virginia, announced Thursday it has recommended $1.38 million in funding for the United Way of Southwest Virginia to create a technology talent development program.
By JACOB LESTER, Harrisonburg Citizen
On April 29, six weeks after the passage of the federal CARES Act, Sen. Mark Warner (D) spoke by phone with several business and community leaders in Harrisonburg, including Mayor Deanna Reed and JMU President Jonathan Alger. The virtual meeting was one in a series of calls Warner has been holding with leaders across Virginia to hear how their communities have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Associated Press
More than a half million Virginians have filed unemployment claims since the coronavirus outbreak hit the state last month, according to new federal data released Thursday. Thursday’s report from the U.S. Department of Labor showed more than 74,000 Virginians filed unemployment claims last week. That marks the third straight week totals have dipped since weekly claims reached a record-setting nearly 150,000 in the week ending April 4.
By JESSICA NOLTE, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)
Most Dominion Energy residential customers should see their bills drop in May, according to a Thursday news release from the company. The reduction will be around $6 per month for the “average residential customer,” the release said.
By BEN DENNIS, WRIC
Teresa‘s Beauty Bar put the caps back on the nail polish at the end of March, and management is eager to open doors to customers. Governor Ralph Northam’s order to close nonessential business expired at the end of April, he then extended it to May 8. At this time, it’s unclear if he may extend it again. However, the salon says they’ve already booked appointments through next month.
By KIMBERLY PIERCEALL, Inside Business
As the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic ripple across the economy, local developer and real estate owner Armada Hoffler revealed to shareholders and analysts Thursday just how much changed in April in its role as a landlord. Just 57% of the rent they expected to earn from their retail tenants had been paid as of April 24.
By DAVE RESS, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)
Newport News Shipbuilding will begin taking employees’ temperatures as they report to work Friday, stepping up its efforts to keep the coronavirus at bay, shipyard president Jennifer Boykin said. The yard is starting the program with what she called a soft opening, after waiting for equipment ordered some time ago, and expects to have it fully ramped up by Monday, she said.
By CHRIS HORNE, WAVY
London Bridge Trading has been making tactical gear for military, first responders and law enforcement for years at its factory near Naval Air Station Oceana. Now, it has added hi-tech masks to its production as both a shield and a weapon against coronavirus. The masks have material infused with copper, and the technology was pioneered by Cupron, based in Richmond.
By ALEXA DOIRON & JULIA MARSIGLIANO, Williamsburg-Yorktown Daily (Metered paywall - 3 articles per month)
When Renee Harrell was a little girl in Peru, her mother taught her the importance of cleanliness. Now as the owner of a cleaning business in the middle of a pandemic, that lesson is more important than ever. . . . But even though Harrell’s business provides a level of clean she sees as important during the coronavirus pandemic, she’s still losing business. Her business is down 40 percent and her staff has reduced by half since the pandemic first came to the area.
By ADRIENNE MAYFIELD AND ALONZO SMALL, WAVY
Virginia’s Walmart employees received a total of $4.8 million in bonuses on Thursday as a thank-you for working through the coronavirus pandemic. Walmart paid their hourly employees across the nation nearly $180 million in bonuses on Thursday, as well. The company already paid $365 million in bonuses in early April — $300 to full-time hourly workers and $150 to part-time workers — and plans to issue more money in May.
By MAGDALA LOUISSAINT, WSLS
Safeside Lynchburg’s indoor gun range is open again after nearly six weeks. On Monday, a Lynchburg judge ordered a temporary injunction against Gov. Ralph Northam’s executive order to close nonessential businesses, including indoor ranges. The group filed a lawsuit in state court and pleaded their case last week. To keep customers and staff safe, people will see Plexiglas shields up at every counter and tape on the ground to keep people 6 feet apart.
By PETER DUJARDIN, Daily Press (Metered Paywall - 1 article a month)
Reeling from drastically reduced air travel caused by the coronavirus, the Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport is slashing its budget and cutting workers to make ends meet. Thirty-six airport employees — 29 part-time and seven full-time — have been let go, including several in upper management ranks.
By MARIE ALBIGES, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
In a deal meant to offer about 200,000 Virginians relief options, Gov. Ralph Northam came to an informal agreement with some private student loan services during the coronavirus pandemic. Northam announced Wednesday people with certain private student loans who are suffering from financial hardships will be able to get what’s called “disaster forbearance,” meaning they can skip payments with no late fees for the next 90 days.
By JAMEY CROSS, Amherst New Era Progress
Sweet Briar College President Meredith Woo announced the college plans to resume in-person instruction in the fall. Woo said the college’s 3,200-acre campus allows social distancing to be “reasonably” enforced. The college’s facilities allow all students to have single rooms, she said.
By MICHAEL MARTZ, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)
Six residents of an assisted living facility in Hanover County have died of COVID-19, as its spread in long-term care facilities has sparked criticism that Virginia has not been aggressive enough in testing or transparent in reporting deaths from the virus in nursing homes, assisted living and other long-term care operations.
By ROBYN SIDERSKY, Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
There are now 15,846 coronavirus cases in Virginia and another 30 deaths were reported overnight, bringing the statewide tally to 552, according to statistics released this morning by the Virginia Department of Health. The number of cases, which includes people who have tested positive and those who are symptomatic with a known exposure to a coronavirus case, increased by 885, the biggest one-day jump yet.
By ANTONIO OLIVO, OVETTA WIGGINS AND FENIT NIRAPPIL, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)
The greater Washington region reported nearly 2,000 new coronavirus cases Thursday, with the District recording its worst day for fatalities, as Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) came under increasing pressure from fellow Republicans to reopen his state’s economy.
By BEN PAVIOUR, WCVE
People in Virginia are leaving home more often and going farther afield than they were two weeks ago, according to cell phone data analyzed by researchers at the University of Maryland. Still, the data shows that Northern Virginia leads the state -- and in some cases, the country -- in practicing social distancing. Researchers at the school’s Maryland Transportation Institute parsed the anonymized location data of more than 100 million cell phones nationwide to determine how often people leave home, how far they go, and where they’re headed.
ArlNow
Arlington’s coronavirus outbreak is continuing to take a grim toll. The latest figures from the Virginia Dept. of Health report 967 known COVID-19 cases, 167 hospitalizations and 41 deaths in Arlington. That’s up from that 912 cases, 163 hospitalizations and 32 deaths reported Wednesday)
By JEREMY M. LAZARUS, Richmond Free Press
A three-night revival in early March that brought more than 1,200 people from across the Richmond area to Cedar Street Baptist Church of God in Church Hill each evening appears to have helped spread the coronavirus in the African-American community.
By C. SUAREZ ROJAS, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)
Henrico County officials say there are no signs of widespread COVID-19 infections among its essential staff after testing more than 1,000 people in a new publicly managed testing site at Virginia Center Commons.
By CATHY DYSON, Free Lance-Star (Metered Paywall - 10 articles a month)
The Rappahannock Area Health District has reached two grim milestones: the first outbreak of multiple COVID-19 cases in one place—at an Aldi store in Spotsylvania County—and the 10th local fatality. Gary Lynn Payne, a 69-year-old lifelong resident of Caroline County, died at Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center on Tuesday from complications of the COVID-19 virus, according to an online obituary by Storke Funeral Home.
By MONIQUE CALELLO, News Leader (Metered Paywall - 3 to 4 articles a month)
Before it became the center of a deadly outbreak of COVID-19 in Virginia, Accordius Health was already in trouble. Since April 28, there have been 21 deaths reported with 81 residents and 12 staff members testing positive for the virus, according to an investigation conducted by the Central Shenandoah Health District.
By ROBERT SORRELL, Bristol Herald Courier (Metered Paywall - 15 articles a month)
Housing authorities across Southwest Virginia have been awarded a total of $274,168 through the CARES Act Admin Fee Regular and Mainstream Voucher Program. “The coronavirus outbreak has inflicted economic hardship on many,” said U.S Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem. “[The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s] award of $274,168 for housing assistance in the Ninth District will bring relief to individuals and families receiving housing assistance who are having greater difficulty paying their bills.”
South Boston News & Record
Mecklenburg County has the third highest number of COVID-19 deaths in Virginia on a population-adjusted basis, the state health department is reporting. Mecklenburg is now up to nine confirmed deaths from the virus. While the Virginia Department of Health does not specify where deaths take place, dozens of people have been infected at Sentara MeadowView Terrace in Clarksville, and at least one elderly resident died there after testing positive, according to a family member.
By JULIA RENTSCH, Eastern Shore News (Metered Paywall - 5 articles a month)
A new report on the relationship between poultry farms and nitrogen pollution underscores the poultry industry's role in contributing to poor water quality in the Chesapeake Bay. Conducted by the Washington, D.C., nonprofit Environmental Integrity Project, the report looked at the poultry industry's nitrogen emissions in the bay watershed states of Maryland, Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.
ArlNow
The Arlington County Board today adopted a budget for the coronavirus era. Gone is the good budget year and the idea of expanding programs and services. In its place is a focus on preventing service reductions while supporting the most vulnerable members of the community.
By MARK ROBINSON, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Access to this article limited to subscribers)
The Richmond City Council on Thursday pledged $300,000 to fight housing insecurity and provide for other emergency needs in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The money will be included in the city budget that takes effect July 1, a spending plan the public health crisis has dramatically altered.
By REGINALD STUART, Richmond Free Press
As a longtime member of Richmond City Council, Reva Trammell has come to be known as a reliable and outspoken advocate for the poor and elderly in the city’s 8th District. She has a reputation for challenging her political peers to govern and enact policies that protect the least powerful. So she was stunned recently when a photo she posted on Facebook that included a “Mammy Jar” sitting atop her kitchen cabinet went viral, igniting a Twitter storm about the jar, its meaning and her racial insensitivity.
By MARK ROBINSON, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)
A city of Richmond employee has died from the novel coronavirus, Mayor Levar Stoney said Thursday. Stoney declined to name the employee or what department they worked in, citing city policy not to share employee health information, as well as a request from the employee’s family that their name remain private.
By BILL ATKINSON, Progress Index (Metered paywall - 10 articles a month)
The city’s schools chief says despite the havoc wreaked on education this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, she still expects the long-planned year-round education to debut as scheduled in July — even if it has to be remotely.
By RALPH BERRIER JR., Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)
Roanoke’s libraries, city hall and other municipal facilities will remain closed to the public until June 10, city manager Bob Cowell announced Thursday morning. The closures comport with Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s temporary stay-at-home order that also runs through that date.
By MIKE ALLEN, Roanoke Times (Metered Paywall - 18 articles a month)
Rocky Mount Police Chief Ken Criner has been suspended with pay while complaints filed against him are investigated. Criner was placed on administrative leave April 7, after Town Manager James Ervin received three complaints about the police chief within two days, according to a memo given to all employees of the Rocky Mount Police Department.
By LOGAN BOGERT, News Virginian
Waynesboro’s Electoral Board recommended Wednesday that the city open just one polling location for the May 19 municipal election, Westwood Hills Elementary, which is not currently a voting location for any of the city’s four wards.
Virginian-Pilot Editorial (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
Renovations of The Virginian-Pilot offices on Brambleton Avenue in Norfolk began weeks ago, before the coronavirus pandemic scattered staff members to their homes and brought to an effective end to the newspaper’s time headquartered there. Still, the formal handover of the property, which takes place this week, is a milestone moment in the life of the newspaper and the communities it serves. It is the end of one era, and the start to another.
Richmond Times-Dispatch Editorial (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)
At the end of 2018, the U.S. Census Bureau set expectations for a momentous change in its response system. The 2020 Operational Plan included a section called “A New Design for the 21st Century.” “The Census Bureau wants to make it easy for people to respond anytime and anywhere,” the document said.
published in Virginian-Pilot (Metered Paywall - 2 articles a month)
The critical need to stay at home to protect the health of our loved ones and essential workers has made for big changes in our coastal communities. Missing is the familiar pre-dawn drone of the crabber’s deadrise and the chatter of watermen on the wharves. Oyster shucking houses are idle, charter boats are tied up at the dock and towns that would normally be preparing for an influx of tourists flocking to beaches and harbors are instead urging people to stay away.
Steven G. Bowman is the commissioner of Virginia Marine Resources.
By HINA LATIF, published in Richmond Times-Dispatch (Metered Paywall - 25 articles a month)
While the coronavirus pandemic benefited the environment by decreasing air pollution, it hurt efforts to leave behind throwaway culture, with households increasingly using single-use plastics and products from Amazon coming in too-large boxes. More items now are going to the landfill instead of being recycled.
Hina Latif serves as president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Women’s Auxiliary, Richmond Chapter.
By JENNIFER HASSAN, Washington Post (Metered Paywall - 3 articles a month)
Capt. Tom Moore, the heart-stealing British war veteran who walked the length of his garden 100 times to raise money for Britain’s National Health Service, turned 100 years old on Thursday — just as donations to his fundraiser climbed to 31 million pounds ($39 million). On his birthday morning, his name once again trended on social media as thousands worldwide offered well wishes to a man many called a “legend.”
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